Winter Springs Gives Top Marks To Top Cop

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT - Oviedo & Winter Springs

Residents And City Officials Alike Praised Dan Kerr For Changes He Has Made Since Becoming Chief In 1997.

May 5, 2000|By Doris Bloodsworth of The Sentinel Staff

WINTER SPRINGS - Two things you won't find in this community are a hotel and a discouraging word about the police chief. Just ask residents what they think about Chief Dan Kerr, and they are eager to respond.

``He relates to the community on a personal basis, but there is never any sacrifice of professionalism,'' said Dean Kowal, vice president of the Winding Hollow subdivision.

``You can see a big difference since Chief Kerr came,'' said Peggy Manfredi, president of the Hacienda Village cooperative.

Another resident was even more effusive.

``I think that we were mighty lucky the day that he filled out an application and said he would come here,'' said Helen Baker, president of the Country Club Village homeowners association.

From homeowners to City Hall, people point to the positive changes that have taken place in the city since Kerr became police chief in February 1997.

Since Kerr's arrival, communication has improved between residents and police officers, and there is a new sense of pride among employees of the department. Most importantly, the crime rate has dropped.

When Kerr applied for the position, the 50-year-old FBI Academy graduate had already had a successful law-enforcement career. He retired as a major with the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department, serving from 1972 to 1992. He then became the police chief in Vienna, Va., serving from 1992 to 1997.

So what drew him to Central Florida, and, specifically, to Winter Springs?

``I liked the makeup of the city,'' he said. ``I liked the atmosphere. It was a quiet community, a growing community that was interested in their law enforcement.''

Kerr said he saw it as an opportunity to use some of the creative ideas he had seen work previously, such as citizen advisory groups and community policing where officers work with residents to solve and prevent crimes.

When he arrived, morale was low.

Officers were driving clunkers that often had more than 120,000 miles on them. One code enforcement officer's car had 220,000 miles. Kerr worked with city commissioners to negotiate several deals, which resulted in the department acquiring roughly a dozen lower-mileage used cars and saving the city more than $150,000.

He asked employees to participate in designing a new look for the vehicles, as well as designing a new patch for their uniforms. He purchased lighter-weight utility belts.

The department was completely revamped, with officers rescheduled so that more were on duty at any given time. Police went from 10-hour shifts, which put three or four officers on the street, to 12-hour shifts, which doubled their numbers.

Soon Kerr created a bike patrol with eight officers. Residents noticed immediately that officers were more accessible. So did criminals. Within its first week, the bike unit arrested a worker who smoked a marijuana cigarette while trimming trees. He hadn't notice the officers until it was too late.

One of the benefits has been a decrease in burglaries. According to crime reports, there were 181 burglaries in 1998. Last year, that number fell to 109.

At the same time, officers were encouraged to become more involved in the community and to make an effort to serve the public.

But Kerr also has developed a relationship with other agencies that has meant resources were available when more serious crime occurs, such as the attempted murder of an 82-year-old man in September.

Helicopters were on site, and officers arrested two suspects within a week.

Some say Kerr has a dual personality. The rank-and-file say he is approachable and takes and gives kidding easily. He sometimes challenges his officers to contests, with the winner getting a free car wash from the chief.

But he also can be a tough cop when the situation requires it. He once escorted a rowdy former city commissioner from a public meeting. And he shot out two tires on a suspect's car after Kerr said the man tried to run him down.

The incidents haven't dulled the praise he continues to draw from Winter Springs folks.

``If I sat here all day, I couldn't think up a negative thing about him,'' said Baker, the Country Club Village association president.